Dark Side
by Emma Panda
Summary: Emma Shroud was a normal girl in the mortal world. Then, she's discovered by Rachel, who brings her to Camp Half-Blood. She meets a boy named Nico and finds out that he has an assignment from the gods: to protect her. With the giants rising, can she save the Camp from Certain Death? (On hiatus)


**HEY GUYS! I just finished Mark of Athena (spoiler alert: Nico gets captured by giant purple-haired ballerinas) and I realized that I NEED to start writing again. So I'm going to start switching POVs. I generally don't like that, but I have to. Rick Riordan did it (except he did it in third person, which I can't write in to save my life.**

**And this story picks up right around when Percy finds Camp Jupiter in June.**

I looked in the mirror at my frizzy hair. _Stay down. _I thought. _Stay down. _

It didn't. "Whatever…" I muttered to myself. I carefully braided it into two long brown braids and stuck a grey and green Yankees hat on. There. Now I looked at least presentable.

I grabbed my bag and ran out of the bathroom. "Ready, Gianna." I said to my older sister.

"Good." She replied. We walked outside to the lemonade stand we had set up earlier.

"Lemonade!" we called. "Fresh squeezed!"

Nobody showed up for hours. I looked around at my neighborhood. Typical Suburban houses with big yards and wide front porches. Some had pools in the backyard. Some didn't. There were some thirsty people in those houses, right? I mean, this was a kid-friendly neighborhood. There should have been kids "frolicking" or something, right?

Nope. Not at all.

"Gianna, we should pack up." I said. "Nobody's gonna come anyway."

"Come on, Emma, just five more minutes."

I sighed. "Gianna, do you really think that five minutes will make a difference?"

Just then, we heard a screen door creek open. Across the street and three houses down, a teenage girl walked out holding the hand of a five-year-old boy. "Come on, Rupert, let's go get some lemonade." She said. Gianna poured a fresh cup and I opened the pencil box that we were using for money. She walked up to us, the little boy in tow. "Hi, my name is Rachel." She said without paying much attention. "This is my cousin Rupert. Could we have two cups of-"

Just then, she looked up at me. Her bright green eyes met my golden ones. Her face changed. There was a look of sheer terror on her pale face now. Still holding Rupert, she pulled out her cell phone and pressed a few buttons. She held it up to her ear. "Percy," she said, shaking. "I found one."

(page break)

"Wait, you found who?" Gianna said. Her blue eyes grew angry and her blond hair flew in the wind.

"I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare," the redhead replied. "I'm the Oracle of Delphi at Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. What's your name?"

"Gianna Shroud, and this is my sister Emma. And what kind of chizz is in your mind? Oracle of Delphi? What?" Gianna answered.

"No, not you." Rachel said, annoyed. "Your sister."

"Who, me?" I said.

"Yes, you." she replied. "Gianna, I need you to do something very important." She turned towards my sister. "I need you to get your parents and tell them that it's time for Emma to leave. I know you don't get it now, but you will later." Then she turned back to me. "Emma, I need you to pack up all your stuff for the summer."

"Wait, why should we trust you?" Gianna snapped.

"Emma, I would suggest you go start packing now."

She grabbed a peice of paper and neatly wrote _Something came up, Rupert is at the Shroud's house. -Rachel_

Gianna began to walk towards the door. "I still don't trust you!" She called over her shoulder.

"Emma, have you ever felt different somehow? Like you're almost... inhuman?" Rachel asked.

"Yes," I confessed. "I can see them, nobody else can."

"What do you see?" Rachel asked. Funny, she seemed almost... scared of me.

"Ghosts. I see them, I talk to them, they do whatever I say." I said softly, almost whispering.

"Emma, do you know what a demigod is?" Rachel said.

"Yeah, we learned about it in Greek History class in school." I replied.

"You're one."

The news hit me like a gunshot. A demigod was a half god. I wasn't half god, was I?

"There's a place called Camp Half-Blood. That's where I'm taking you. You'll be with other people like you. Emma, you're special."

Rachel suddenly cocked her head towards the big oak tree in my yard. Out of the shadows of the trunk, a huge black car-sized dog flew out.

It couldn't stop itself fast enough and it barreled straight into me.

At the last minute, not knowing how, I made my body completely transparent and the dog ran right through me. I turned around to face a startled-looking Rachel with her mouth and eyes looking like an "O".

I looked down and I was surprised to not see my body.

How did I do that? It was like I turned into a... a _ghost._

I needed to somehow get back. _Turn normal. _I willed myself. Looking back down at my hand, I saw myself slowly fizzle back into existince.

"Holy Zeus, what was _that?_" Rachel gaped. "It's like... like... you were a ghost or something!"

"So I'm a demigod." I concluded. "I didn't think they existed."

"They do," A voice said from across the yard. I looked over and aw a boy there. He was maybe 12 or 13, with dark black hair and sea-green eyes. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm serious. What's your name?"

"Emma Shroud." I said. "And demigods don't exist. They died off thousands of years ago."

"They do exist, and you're one." He smirked.

"Then who's my 'God Parent'?" I said, trying to outsmart him.

"I have no idea, but judging by the fact that you just vanshed, you're some sort of Underworld kid. Like me."

"You don't know that." I said. "You don't know anything about me."

"You'd be surprised about how much we have in common." And with that, he began to tell me about the world of the Gods.

(page break)

"So, you're telling me that you rode here through darkness on a magic dog from hell because I'm a magical nutjob with superpowers." I said. "Real believable."

"It's true, I promise." He pleaded.

As phony as it sounded, there was a part of me that believed him.

I took a deep breath. "Okay," I said cautiously. "I believe you."

"Good, then go pack your stuff. We're going to Camp Half-Blood."


End file.
